Persecution
by Huffleclaw Writers
Summary: A series of one-shots that will each be centered around a different student undergoing torture from Umbridge. Chapter 1: Twin Torture (Fred and George Weasley); Chapter 2: Luna Lovegood; Chapter 3: Hermione Granger
1. Fred and George

**Disclaimer: I know, right? It's amazing that I own HP, isn't it? I'm so rich . . . JK! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't own HP, trust me. Do you really believe I'd be writing FanFiction if I actually owned this?**

**Author's Note: This is my first entry into mine and Liz's joint endeavor. I hope you enjoy our stories. We work really hard on them. This one was written by me, Ninja, and I hope you like it. Please follow, favorite, and review. They'll mean a lot to us. :)**

_xxxxx_

Fred and George traipsed down the staircases, off to detention with the toad. Many of their friends had already been there, particularly Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were the ones who stood up to her the most. They exchanged nervous looks, for Fred and George were the next victims on her list. She was a giant pink furry toad, and Fred and George were two helpless flies waiting to be savored.

Fred and George Weasley were not two people who enjoyed admitting pain or defeat. On the contrary, they hid their pain quite well from everyone except each other. But seeing the pained looks on people such as Harry Potter, who had endured more pain than anyone they knew . . . well, let's just say that they weren't encouraged by the sight of that.

Reaching the toad's office, Fred and George shared another glance. They nodded to one another before Fred raised a hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in," piped the sickeningly sweet voice of Professor Dolores Umbridge.

Fred opened the door, allowing himself and George through.

"Hello, boys," Umbridge tittered. "How are you two this fine evening?"

Fred and George mumbled two indistinguishable answers, and luckily she didn't press them.

The twins moved to the two chairs that sat at the desk. They both knew what to expect, so they weren't surprised to see two pieces of parchment and two black, evil-looking quills.

Umbridge was scanning their faces, obviously checking for fear, intimidation, or perhaps something else. Fred and George kept their features straight, thought, not intending to allow Umbridge even a teaspoon's worth of satisfaction.

As Fred sat down in one chair and George moved to the other, Umbridge held up a pink-nailed, pudgy finger and wagged it teasingly.

"Ah, ah, ah," Umbridge cooed. "I'll take you first." She pointed at Fred. "You will sit outside and wait until it's your turn," she continued, pointing at George.

George looked at Fred, fear now evident in his eyes. He hardly ever left his brother's side, let alone at a time when he might be in pain.

"Off you go," Umbridge said, shooing George away with her hand. George opened his mouth in protest, but a small shake of Fred's head told him not to. George realized that if he complained or put up a fight, he could very well make Fred's session longer and more painful, let alone his own.

George gave Fred the most encouraging smile he could muster, glared at Umbridge, then turned and walked out of the office. As Toadface clicked the door shut behind him, he leaned up against the wall and slid down, his teeth gritted in fury.

_xxxxx_

"Here you are," Umbridge said, sliding the black quill towards him. "You'll be doing some lines for me, Mr. Weasley."

"What shall I write?" Fred asked with a forced calmness, taking the quill and readying it above the piece of parchment.

"Well, considering what you did yesterday in my class by sneaking students your disgusting treats, I think you need a lesson in respect, don't you?" she said, then she giggled. "How about, _I must respect my elders_."

Fred nodded stiffly, then set to work.

He had expected the pain, but it was worse than he thought. It felt as though some creature's claw was scratching his skin, and pebbles of blood littered the page as his moved across it. The skin recovered the wound as it was written, but it grew more painful with every letter.

Fred grimaced as his hand seared. The words, _I must respect my elders,_ were etched again and again into his skin. His eyes watered as he wrote line after line, word after word, letter after letter.

Halfway through, Fred realized that he hadn't asked how many times he should write the sentence, but he remembered something Harry had told them about his detentions. Umbridge had told Harry, "As long as it takes for the message to sink in."

_Umbridge_, Fred seethed. _More like Umbitch._

At last, Umbridge stood up from behind her desk and looked over Fred's shoulder. "I think that's enough for tonight, dear," she said.

Fred had to fight himself to keep from growling. _How dare she call me 'dear?' As if she's Mum._

"When will I come back?" he said, his voice shaky but steady. He held his hand at his side, hoping that not much pain was visible on his face.

"Well, I say you need another two sessions, at least, so I'll see you again on Thursday," Umbridge replied sweetly, almost as if she were asking him to have tea with her, not be tortured by her. "Now I'll see your brother and then you two can head off to bed."

Fred gave a curt nod, then turned on the spot and left. As soon as the door opened, George sprang up from his seat on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly, looking his twin up and down.

"Yeah, I'm fine, or at least, I will be," Fred replied.

George looked down at his brother's hand and took it gently in both of his own.

Though his brother handled it gently, Fred couldn't help but wince at the pain the movement brought.

George noticed this and swore. "Damn her!"

"It's okay, Georgie," Fred said. "Listen, let's just get this over with and then go back to the Common Room, okay?"

George nodded and took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and walked into the office.

_xxxxx_

George swallowed against the pain, fighting the hot tears. Small pebbles of blood bubbled from his skin, sliding down his hand and onto the paper. The more he wrote, the slower his hand healed and the more blood protruded from the bleeding letters. His tongue hurt too, for he had been holding it between his teeth, fighting the urge to whimper or let out the occasional gasp of pain.

At last, out of the corner of his eye, George saw Umbridge stand up and wander behind him. She laid a ring-covered hand on his shoulder and George couldn't help but flinch.

"Ten more lines," she said sweetly.

George swallowed again, lifted his hand, and started another line. And again. And again and again and again until finally, he had finished. His hand tender and aching, George dropped the quill on the desk and stood up slowly, dazed slightly by the pain.

"Very good, my dear," Umbridge tittered, picking up the piece of parchment and looking it over.

George gave no response.

"Off you go, and I'll see you tomorrow for class," she said. She looked up at him and smiled, her white teeth flashing like daggers.

Gritting his teeth to stop himself from retorting, George turned on the spot and opened the door, never being more pleased to see his brother's face.

"You okay?" Fred asked immediately.

George sighed. "I'll be fine," he mumbled. "C'mon, let's get back to the Common Room and get some sleep."

And so Fred and George, leaning on each other for support, moved down the staircases and wandered back towards the Gryffindor Common Room. About halfway there, however, George slowed.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked him, turning to his brother.

"I suppose I just feel kinda faint," George replied.

Fred looked worried for a moment, before realization struck him. "We didn't have dinner," he said. "We're probably hungry and then what that toad did to us made us feel even worse."

"We could go to the kitchens," George said. And so him and Fred changed course and headed for the Hogwarts Kitchens.

As soon as they opened the door, a little bundle of energy hit their legs. "Mr. and Mr. Weasley, sirs!" yelled the little voice.

"Hi, Dobby," Fred said fondly. "How're you doing?"

"I is fantastic, sirs," Dobby replied, smiling broadly.

"And Winky?" George asked. "Has she been okay?"

"She is doing much better, sir," Dobby said. "I believe she is finally getting over her sadness over Mr. Crouch."

"Good for her," Fred said. "Well, Dobby, my brother aren't – erm – feeling our best and we were wondering if we could maybe have some food."

"Of course, sirs," Dobby said. "What kind of foods do you want, sirs?"

"Whatever you've got, Dobby," George said. "You all make the best food," he continued loudly. He was pleased to see all the nearby house-elves look up and smile toothy grins at them.

A few minutes later, Fred and George were sitting down at a small table and relishing the taste of freshly baked rolls, beef-and-potato stew, biscuits, and blueberry pie.

Dobby had returned to his work on the next day's breakfast, so Fred and George had a few minutes to talk alone.

"I swear, I hate that woman, but I don't think we can go without pranking, do you?" George said.

Fred smiled. "No, I don't think we could even if we wanted to." They both laughed, knowing that that was indeed true. Their laughs died, however, as their eyes found one another's hands.

"I'm sorry, Georgie," Fred said. "I'm sorry about what she did to you."

"Me too, Freddie," George replied. "I can't imagine that she was any easier on you than she was with me."

Fred sighed, lazily moving his fork around his empty plate before looking up. "Well, we'll make it through together, won't we?" he said.

George looked back. "Do you really think that there will be another war?" he said softly.

Fred nodded solemnly. "It feels like it," he said. "But what with Harry and Dumbledore and us learning all of these new spells, I bet we've got a good shot at this."

Him and George sat in silence for a few more minutes, neither feeling up to trekking back to Gryffindor Tower at the moment.

Eventually, Fred looked up. "I think we know what we should do," he said.

George nodded. "I think we do."


	2. Luna

**A/N: Here comes our second story, this time featuring Luna! We do hope you'll enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: Nope, sadly, HP doesn't belong to me, either. -Liz**

* * *

Luna gazed out of the window. She had never particularly enjoyed school, but Defence Against The Dark Arts classes with Professor Umbridge were by far her least favourite way of spending her time. Bored, she reached for her quill and started doodling on her parchment. While she concentrated on her drawing, the classroom and Professor Umbridge seemed to drift away.

Therefore, she was very confused to hear a voice next to her.

"_Hem, hem_."

Luna looked up, right into the toad's eyes.

Umbridge smiled at her and said in a very sweet voice, "Could I see that, please?"

Luna bit her lip and handed the parchment over. Umbridge took it and smoothed it out.

"Interesting," she said after examining the drawing carefully.

"It is," Luna said passionately. "It's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. They are extremely rare, but that's how it's said to look like. They can be useful, too, for example their horn – "

"Enough," Umbridge said, curling her lips. She crumpled up the piece of paper and took out her wand. "_Evanesco_." She turned to her student and said in a cold voice, "I will not tolerate ridiculousness or inattentiveness. You – "

Luna's eyes grew wide. "But it's true, you see," she said. "There is plenty of evidence and – "

"Don't be ridiculous," Umbridge snapped. "You'll see me this evening, 6 o'clock."

Luna gazed at her. "But you can't just say things aren't there just because you didn't see them with your own eyes," she said. Gone was her dreamy and passionate voice. She sounded angry. "Things can exist even if you didn't see them yourself; it's the same with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. If you read the Quibbler, for instance, you might see that –"

"Enough of this," Umbridge called furiously. "I will not argue about this with you any further. And I'm warning you, it's extremely dangerous, if not illegal, to spread false rumours like this one." She glanced at her once more before she went back to her desk and proceeded with her class. Luna meanwhile stared down on her hands and started doodling on her skin, well hidden under her desk. Now, she was determined _not_ to pay attention.

* * *

Luna was late. According to her clock it was already ten minutes past six when she knocked on the professor's office. But it wasn't her fault for she had left the Ravenclaw dormitory in time. On her way she had met Neville, who couldn't find Trevor and usually, Luna would have been happy to help him look for it, but all she could do was tell him that she'd help him tomorrow if he hadn't found it by them. In front of Umbridge's office she had stumbled over a toad, picked it up and ran back to find Neville.

Now she was back in front of the office and knocked.

"Yes?" she heard the sweet voice from inside.

Luna pushed the door open. She had never been here before and she was surprised how everything was so... _pink_. She stepped up to the desk and looked into the witch's eyes.

"Good evening, Miss Lovegood," Umbridge said softly. "Sit down."

Luna forced a smile and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. "Good evening, professor."

"You are late," Umbridge remarked. "I'm afraid we will have to extend your detention then a little bit, don't you think?"

Luna bit her lip. "I was helping a friend," she pointed out.

Umbridge merely rose an eyebrow and, as if Luna hadn't said anything, she continued, "Now, Miss Lovegood, we both know why you are here." Her voice was as sweet as ever. "You have deliberately paid no attention in my classroom, and you have been telling lies about the existence of magical creatures."

Luna glared at her. There weren't many people she didn't like or didn't get along with, but Umbridge was one of those people. Every single bone in her body wanted to simply get up and leave; listening to this person was unbearable.

"To teach you to listen in class and to get your ideas out of your head, you will be writing some lines."

Luna looked at her. She had been expecting this; Umbridge's quill had become very notorious amongst the students.

"We will start tonight," Umbridge went on, "and continue your lessons until the message has sunk in." She opened the drawer and pulled out the black quill and a pile of parchment, and placed both on Luna's side of the desk. Luna watched her closely and took the quill. For now, it seemed like any other quill, but Luna was afraid it would soon reveal its dark side.

"I want you to write _'I must not be abstracted in class and spread false rumours.'_"

Luna was biting her lip. She was tempted to say something in defence of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, but she could tell that it would only get her into more trouble.

"What are you waiting for?" Umbridge said impatiently.

Luna began to write, very hesitantly. The moment she had reached the end of the sentence, she could feel a stinging pain in her left hand. She gasped, and stopped to look at her hand. The pain only lasted for a second before the skin started to heal itself. However, a tiny scar was left, and Luna knew the cut was going to grow. She swallowed.

"Go on," she heard Umbridge's soft voice. Luna looked up at her teacher, who eyed the little scar on Luna's hand. "Go on," Umbridge repeated, "there is still a lot of parchment left, and it will take long time until the message has sunk in, don't you think?"

Luna bit her lip and held back an answer. Instead, she began to write again. She had to find out that each time she repeated her line, the pain got more intense and the cut got a little bit deeper. Tears welled in her eyes and she desperately tried to hold them back. She didn't usually mind showing her feelings, but she knew it would give Umbridge satisfaction, and she was determined not to give her that pleasure.

_I must not be abstracted in class and spread false rumours._

She stopped to take a breath. Her left hand was throbbing now, and she put down the quill to rub it.

"Is there a problem?" Umbridge asked. She got up from her chair and walked around the desk to examine Luna's hand. "Yes, it hurts," she said, looking at the girl, "but you know you deserve the pain, don't you? You have done wrong, and you deserve to get punished."  
Luna was afraid that if she said something now, she'd cry, so she remained silent.

"Go on," Umbridge smiled.

Luna took the quill and clenched her teeth.

"And do not pause or rub your hand again," Umbridge said, while sitting down, "or your punishment will hardly have the effect it's supposed to have, right?"

Again, Luna didn't reply and silently continued to write.

After what felt like two hours, Luna thought it was about time Umbridge would bring the detention to an end, but it didn't look like it. The pile of parchment didn't seem to shrink, and her cut got deeper and deeper. By now, tears were streaming down her face and whenever Luna tried to wipe them away, Umbridge looked up and said: "Don't stop. Go on."

When Umbridge finally got up from her chair and came up to Luna, the girl's eyes were as red as her throbbing hand. Umbridge looked down on Luna's hand, but didn't give her permission to stop writing. Luna's right hand was shaking. She wanted to stop; waiting for Umbridge to say something was horrible. The professor waited until she had reached the end of the parchment scroll, before she said in a soft voice: "You can stop."

Luna put the quill down and was about to examine her wounded skin, but Umbridge already clasped her hand and inspected it carefully. Luna used her right hand to wipe over her red eyes.

"Alright," the professor said finally. "I will see you again tomorrow evening."

Luna just nodded. As soon as she was dismissed, she got out of the office as quickly as she could. Outside, she took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. She carefully stroked over her injured skin and decided to put some Murtlap essence on it. That should help. Now that she had stopped writing and causing the cut to get deeper, the pain was bearable and the throbbing stopped too. She walked up into the Ravenclaw common room, which was crowded. Every seat seemed to be taken; Luna looked at the clock and realised Umbridge had kept her for over four hours; no surprise it had seemed like ages!

She went into her dormitory to look for the Murtlap essence. She heard steps and saw Cho Chang entering the room.

"Hi," Cho said.

Luna looked up, surprised. Cho didn't speak much to her outside the DA meetings.

"Hi," she said.

"Are you okay?" Cho asked.

Luna had found the essence and sat down on her bed. "Yeah," she said, "yeah, I'm quite okay, thanks."

"Umbridge is a beast," Cho said, looking at the deep cut on Luna's hand.

Luna just nodded and put on the Murtlap essence.

"Okay, I'll go back to the others then," Cho said, nodding at the door. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. You know, even if I don't think your creatures exist, I liked what you said to Umbridge. Even if she doesn't like to hear it, it's good to tell her about You-Know-Who."

Luna smiled surprised. "I think so too," she said.

Cho smiled. "Okay, see you later then."

"Good night, Cho," Luna said, laying down on her bed. Lying here, she realised that even though she had Umbridge to deal with, she was probably happier than the year before. She had friends.


	3. Hermione

"Sit down, Miss."

Hermione glared at Umbridge. She didn't like being called _Miss_. Especially not from this stupid, thick, arrogant, ugly, toady old _hag_. Hermione didn't move.

"Miss Granger, is your hearing impaired? I believe I have asked you to sit."

Hermione remembered that Professor McGonagall had told her that it was better not to stand up against Umbridge, so she took a seat.

"Finally." Umbridge smiled, but nothing about her expression was friendly. "Now, would you please remind me why we have gathered here?"

Hermione was tempted to simply not answer, but she knew it wouldn't help.

"I stormed out of the classroom and I insulted you."

"Almost correct. How else did you violate the rules?"

"Erm, I – I went to Professor McGonagall's office?"

"And tried to suspend me. Yes." Professor Umbridge looked thoughtfully at her. "Now please remind me what punishment we decided on."

Hermione hated that Umbridge said 'we' as if Hermione had in any way been involved in the process. She didn't answer.

Umbridge shook her head. "Defiant girl," she said. "The students of this school keep proving my point. Children need discipline, something Hogwarts has lacked for several years now." She leaned back in her chair. "I'm waiting," she said. "We've got all night, don't we? The time that you take to refuse to answer the question will of course add to your punishment."

Hermione glared at her. She hated giving in to this woman, but she also knew that she didn't help herself if she stayed stubborn. She started to understand why McGonagall had said to her that defiance might not be the best strategy.

"You told me that I have to serve detentions."

"Right. How many, exactly?"

"Every evening," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "From now until Easter Break."

"Precisely," Umbridge said happily, "this _would_ have been your punishment."

She searched her drawers and took out a piece of parchment. She took a quill and inked out a part of it. Hermione watched her writing something else on the parchment in squiggled letters.

"In the light of your defiance," she then said, "I think we ought to adjust this statement a little bit, don't you think?"

Hermione didn't. She nervously rubbed her hands.

"How about," Umbridge said thoughtfully, before writing something down, "from now until the O.W.L. Exams?"

Hermione stared at her.

"Conditionally," Umbridge added. "If we find we need more detentions, we might expand our meetings until the summer holidays."

Hermione's heart sank. Several weeks of detention for not giving an answer! Umbridge had to be insane. And how was she supposed to study for her examinations?

"Weekends excluded, of course." Umbridge smiled as if she granted Hermione a special honour.

"You can't do this," Hermione whispered.

Umbridge raised an eyebrow. "We shall see," she said sweetly before taking out a piece of parchment. Hermione's stomach twitched. Now it had to come. The Black Quill.

Hermione wasn't easily intimated, but she had seen Harry's scars and she couldn't imagine how much pain the quill could possibly cause. She was even more surprised and bewildered as Umbridge handed her a regular quill and an inkpot.

But Umbridge explained to her at once. "Since you're the first one to be in detention with me on a regular basis – not even Mr. Potter has managed to have me making him come here every day, _yet –" _She paused to see what impact her words had on Hermione. Hermione stared at her blankly, and Umbridge continued. "I have decided that we will set up some rules first. I've seen you're an impudent girl, and in order to cure you of your impudence, I have to provide an atmosphere that makes it possible for me to work with you."

_You mean, an atmosphere that makes it possible for you to torture me. _Hermione had to restrain herself to not speak the words out loud.

"I want you to write the rules down. We will use a normal quill for that." Umbridge smiled again. Hermione started feeling sick, realising that Umbridge obviously enjoyed making her wait for the real pain.

"Now please start writing," Umbridge said softly. "Headline: _Detention Rules._"

Hermione bit her lip and wrote it down.

"_Rule One," _Umbridge dictated. "_The student will arrive every evening at 8 pm for detention and will stay until 10 pm. Any delay will add twice to the student's punishment._

"_Rule Two: In detention, the student will not speak unless spoken to._

"_Rule Three: The student must in no way be impudent and always speak with his teacher in a polite manner. _

"_Rule Four: The student must address the teacher as 'professor' or 'ma'am' [cf. Rule 3]"_

It went on and on like this. Hermione started wondering if her entire detention today would consist of writing down rules. Finally, Umbridge paused. Hermione looked down on the parchment.

"You can't make me do this," she said in a quiet, but determined voice. "You have no right to torture me every evening and to make me obey your rules."

Umbridge looked up. "I don't?" she asked in a soft voice. "Really?"

Hermione swallowed. "Really," she said. "I'll go to Professor McGonagall and –"

"And Professor McGonagall may not be Deputy Headmistress for much longer," Umbridge said sharply. "As you may know, I am now in charge of the school, and that includes in particular discipline. Apparently it was about time that someone took this into their hands."

Hermione crossed her arms. "What if I don't obey?" she asked.

Umbridge smiled. "Your parents are _Muggles_, aren't they?"

Hermione pretended she hadn't heard the undertone when Umbridge said the word Muggles. "Yes," she answered shortly.

"Would you like to go back to them? You can disobey me at any time. No one forces you to take part in the Wizarding World. I can expel you this night and tomorrow, the ministry will snap your wand. Does that sound like an alternative to you?"

Hermione bit her lip. They both knew the answer to that question.

"I thought not," Umbridge said.

"_Rule Fifteen: If the student violates any of the rules, he may be expelled."_

Hermione put the quill down and stared at the parchment.

"Magnificent," Umbridge said. "Now we can start."

She took the quill and the ink and put it into the drawer. "Miss Granger, what does Rule Six say about beginning the punishment?"

Hermione's eyes searched the parchment. _Rule Six: The student will always ask the teacher to hand out quill and parchment._

Hermione swallowed. Umbridge clearly knew that Hermione didn't loathe anything more than asking her teacher _politely _to give her the instrument that would torture her. Umbridge looked at her, waiting, and remembering Rule Fifteen, Hermione said through gritted teeth and with as much reluctance in her voice as she dared, "Professor, can you give me quill and parchment?"

Umbridge clicked her tongue and pointed with her finger on Rule Three. Hermione had to be careful not to roll her eyes at her.

"Professor, can you please give me quill and parchment?"

"Better," Umbridge said and handed her the items. Hermione tried to hide the dread in her eyes. She took the quill, almost expecting pain the moment her skin touched the implement, but nothing happened.

She waited for Umbridge to tell her what to write, but she stayed silent. "Go on," Umbridge simply said.

Hermione realised that the toad wanted her to make another request. "Professor, what should I write?"

Umbridge told her, and Hermione got started. _I must not be impudent towards my authorities. _The moment she had written the first word she gasped, surprised by the sudden pain even though she had expected it. She knew that she mustn't stop, so she continued writing although every part of her body begged her to stop. The two hours felt like an eternity; when the clock finally told her that it was 10pm, she breathed out in relief. Her eyes wandered to Umbridge, but her teacher made no attempts to tell her to stop. Dreading, Hermione looked once more at the rules.

_Rule Seven: The student must ask the teacher to end the detention at 10pm. If the request is impolite, the teacher may decide to expand the detention. _

Hermione swallowed. Tears were burning in her eyes, her left hand was bleeding and throbbing and her right hand was numb because of the ceaseless writing. She couldn't believe her teacher's perpetual attempts to degrade her.

"Professor?" she asked. Umbridge looked up, her face contorted to a smile. "Can we please end the detention? It's 10 o'clock."

Umbridge turned around to look at the clock herself and then nodded at Hermione. She took the quill from her and then looked at Hermione's hand. "Well," she said, stroking over the skin, "we certainly got somewhere today, didn't we?"

Hermione bit her lip and said nothing but Umbridge slapped her against the bleeding hand. "I asked you a question!"

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said. "We did."

As soon as Umbridge had allowed her to exit the office, she ran down the corridor, as far away from Umbridge's office as possible.

* * *

**AN: **This was so much fun to write! I hope you enjoyed the story. Sorry we didn't upload in a while, but other stories kept us both very busy. Thanks for reading :)


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